monday, October 5, 1981
page 4
daily nebraskan
U
Reagan armg policy is unrealistic
President Reagan's announced
military buildup represents a stark
return to Cold War philosophy
without any serious consideration
to existing political and military
concerns.
Reagan's plan for the develop
ment of a limited MX missile
system and B-l bombers will only
exacerbate the arms race between
the United States and the Soviet
Union.
For years, the United States has
argued that the Soviets were
adding to the arms race. But with
the Reagan plans announced Fri
day and the apparent inability for
any real progress at SALT talks, it
appears the nation is hurtling
toward military buildup at an
unprecedented speed.
Hie Reagan price tag for the
MX and B-l systems is an astound
ing $180 billion. That price is just
an estimate and probably doesn't
take into account cost overruns or
inflation. Previous administra
tions' price estimates for defense
were wrong and there is no reason
to believe Reagan's figures are any
more accurate.
The administration, in its obses
sive desire to send a strong signal
to the Soviet Union on our mili
tary prowess, has based its
decisionmaking on political
rhetoric. Reagan, reverting to act
ing days, comes off like a mili
taristic Tarzan solidly thumping
his chest about how America must
rebuild and be prepared for the
Soviet threat.
Reagan's decision to scrap the
foolish MX shell-game proposed
by the Carter administration has
been criticized as making the
system even more vulnerable than
the overworkable rotation of the
underground missiles.
The new plans call for 36
missiles to be housed in existing
holes for Titan missiles. The holes
would be "super-hardened" to
guard against Soviet attack.
Where the remaining 64 missiles
will be housed is still being con
sidered. The United States will
have until 1984 to decide whether
to base the rest aboard aircrafts, in
deep underground silos or in bases
defended by other missile systems.
The motivation for this military
madness is the belief that the
nation's "window of vulner
ability," our ability to repel a
first-strike by the Soviet Union,
has cracked wide open.
Actually, opinions differ on this
crucial issue. Reagan and his peo
ple say the nation is inadequately
prepared to defend against a first
strike. Opponents argue that the
existing 1,054 land based missiles
are an adequate deterrent.
Herein lies part of the problem.
We hopefully will never know
whose system is better. Beyond
the puny question of who has the
biggest bombs, the larger question
100 B'l BOrtBfRSjRW
of global annihilation rests square
ly on the shoulders of Soviet and
U.S. leaders.
Much like John Kennedy in
1960, Reagan talked throughout
his 1980 campaign about the
missile gap between the United
States and the Soviet Union.
Neither campaign claim has been
verifiable but it is a nice, soft
political issue that brings voters
out in droves.
The administration should re
examine its position of arms
limitation talks. Arms talks may
not be the perfect solution, but
the question of weapons, defense
systems and first strikes only
proves we live in an imperfect
world.
We should remember that the
original SALT I treaty was signed
in 1971 in the midst of the most
extensive bombing in the nation's
history. The Soviet Union and the
United States need to reach agree
ments over arms but through
discussions, not in the trenches
fighting.
The only positive aspect of the
Reagan buildup is the possibility
that it might prompt a revival of
an old 1960s protest song.
Perhaps, Barry McGuire's "Eve
of Destruction" would serve as a
good theme song for the admini
stration's policies. But such
policies only increase the likeli
hood that the words will ring true.
Music protesters overlooked 'White Christmas'
The recent burning of record album covers in Grand
Island was a daring move indeed.
Sponsored by a fundamentalist Christian group, the
bonfiremedia event was meant to protest the obscene,
drug inspired lyrics of today's rock music. But even Bee
thoven got tossed in the flames, suggesting these parti
cular church goers had Ludwig's number long before the
rest of us suspected the deviant nature of his classics.
long been subversive, causing people to dance, sing and
buy foreign made stereo systems.
Some choose to look at today's music as artistic
expression that merely reflects the atmosphere of the
world we live in. But others more astutely realize that
rock music is an effective lobbying organization of Satan's
most trusted guitar-wielding demons.
If you'd like to join the cause, have some friends over
this weekend for an album-fry. Here's a partial list of
some records they overlooked in Grand Island:
"In The Mood" - Glenn Miller: The obvious question
here is "in the mood for what?" The lewd brass section
children may be hearing this.
"White Christmas" - Bing Crosby: Though this multi
million seller seems harmless enough, it was reportedly
written by Irving Berlin during a late December flight to
Bolivia. How many people have turned to drugs at Berlin's
subtle suggestion?
"Que Sera, Sera" - Doris Day: Translated this means
"whatever will be will be," and no matter how you slice it
folks, that sounds like an endorsement of anarchy. Torch
it.
I'm one American who thinks they've only scratched here is "in the mood for what?" The lewd brass section Anything by Englebert Humperdinck: I don't know
the surface. The underlying current of popular music has suggests it's not just dinner and a movie. Remember, about his music, but his name sounds positively obscene.
A more sane insanity defense offered
To the surprise of no one, John W. Hinckley Jr. Will
plead insanity in the shooting of President Reagan and
three others last March. From the defense point of view,
it's the only plea that makes sense.
With the evidence of eyewitnesses, TV footage and
Hinckley's own statements, it would be tough to convince
a jury that somebody else did the shooting. If that were
the only question at issue, conviction would seem assured,
and Hinckley would face up to life imprisonment.
But if the defense can demonstrate that Hinckley was
insane at the time of the shooting and that the assault was
the product of his mental disorder, then he would be in
nocent of the charges against him. He could be a free man
in 50 days.
OTMm) m$
ill ii V j
If an insanity plea is a reasonable strategy for the de
fense, it strikes many of the rest of us as insane. Yet it is
excruciatingly difficult to come up with an approach that
makes sense in these cases. Clearly there are people who
are so deranged that they are unable to control them
selves, or who are so deluded that they don't know what
they are doing.
It is unfair on its face to conclude that such people are
"responsible", in the legal sense, for their actions. And if
they are not responsible they are not criminals deserving
of incarceration, but sick people in need of treatment.
The difficulty is in determining legal responsibility.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, outlined the basic problem on
March 26, four days before Reagan and the others were
shot, when he introduced legislation to limit the insanity
defense.
"The traditional insanity defense," he said, "is both a
legal anachronism and a concept ill-suited to modern
psychological theory. It presents issues - important issues
- that are not susceptible of intelligent resolution in the
courtroom environment. Trials in which the insanity
defense has been raised have often degenerated into swear
ing contests between opposing teams of expert witnesses,
all of whom are forced to translate the language of the
psychiatric profession into the quite alien language of the
legal profession.
"This takes place within the context of convolution,
hypothetical questioning that yields responses that can
only be confusing and misunderstood. They certainly
contribute extremely little toward the pursuit of truth."
He is right. It seems disconcertingly easy to find reput
able psychiatrists to take either side of the question of
responsibility, and non-expert jurors are forced to choose
between conflicting offerings of expert testimony.
Continued on Page 5
"Angels We Have Heard On High" - The Norman
Luboff Choir: Again, high on what? And what's this
about flying winged humanoids singing "Gloria"? I sus
pect "Excelcius Deo" refers to the Latin name for some
psychedelic mushroom the composer swallowed before
beginning his "trip."
"Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" - The Mike Curb
Congregation: Sure, love is a many splendored thing ... if
you're legally married. How do we know the composer
wasn't living in sin and engaging in the bizarre sex
practices so coyly referred to as "love" these days. How
many people have been listening to this music in dentist
offices and then suddenly found themselves buying bond
age equipment at the song's subliminal urging? It's better
to be safe than sorry, so throw this one in too.
"Zipidee-Do-Dah" from Songs of the South: It's not
clear what this song actually means, but Walt Disney was a
known drug user. Yet we give these records to our child
ren like they were candy. There's no need to even go into
the underlying perversity of Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs.
"The Star Spangled Banner" - Francis Scott Keyes:
Sadly, even our national anthem is tainted. Take the first
line "Oh say can you see, by the dawns early light?" What
was Keyes on that made him stay up all night, and so
face?7 CyCd hC Couldn,t distin8uish a bomb ta front of his
Continued on Page 5